dog day

English

Etymology

A singularization of dog days.

Noun

dog day (plural dog days)

1. One of the dog days of summer: a late-summer day.
   • 1856, Henry David Thoreau, The Journal of Thoreau, Vol. 2, page 1 (July 30, 1856)

     This is a perfect dog-day. The atmosphere thick, mildewy, cloudy. It is difficult to dry anything. The sun is obscured, yet we expect no rain.

   • 1946, Carson McCullers, The Member of the Wedding

     "A terrible terrible dog day storm. Or maybe even a cyclone."

   • 1998, Nina G. Dorsch, Community, Collaboration, and Collegiality in School Reform, page 51:

     August 24, 1993 was the first day of the new school year at Cedar City High School. The day dawned sunny and steamy, promising another "dog day" in southern Ohio.